All Analysis articles – Page 22
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Analysis
Taking the long view
The government’s long-awaited plan to tackle air pollution was always going to be controversial, after the High Court had dismissed earlier proposals as not good enough, and set a deadline of July 31 for it to come up with something better. But the media storm whipped up by its UK ...
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Analysis
Chris Hunt: UKPIA director general
Since I last wrote this column, the UK’s General Election was held and the Queen’s Speech, on June 21, set out the government’s programme for the period between 2017 and 2019 and certainly life hasn’t got any less complex! Firstly, it was announced that Parliament will now sit for two ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Calm down everyone I think! From the alarming headlines that preceded the government’s announcement last month on tackling air pollution to the more considered comment released by UKPIA’s director general, Chris Hunt (see News Extra on page 10), there were was a lot of shock and bewilderment in between. The ...
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Analysis
Ray Blake: technical manager PRA
The latest Petroleum Regulations came into force from October 1, 2014 and allowed for a transitional period of three years for the Petroleum Licences that were in force at the time, to be converted by the Petroleum Enforcing Authorities (PEAs) into Petroleum Storage Certificates (PSCs). The three years have nearly ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
The drive towards a growing UK car parc of electric vehicles is gathering momentum by the day, particularly with last month’s Queen’s Speech in which the government reinforced its determination to develop the electric and hydrogen-powered vehicle sector (see News Extra, page 10). But also with the regular announcements by ...
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Analysis
Who foots the Bill?
The government’s vision for the future of the road travel, which was outlined in the Queen’s Speech, contained both reassurance and potential threats for the forecourt sector. The good news is that the government is clearly confident about the future of the forecourt sector, as it features in a pivotal ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum: analysis editor, Argus Media
Crude futures prices fell below $45/bl at one point in June for the first time since November, as demand growth has been slow. UK retail prices are following with their usual lag. In a sign that rebalancing the market is proving harder than first thought, Opec members are starting to ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: ACS chief executive
After such an unexpected (for most) General Election result, it’s no surprise that Theresa May followed up with a scaled-down Queen’s Speech. But within the speech, there was still one important piece of legislation mentioned that will have direct implications for the forecourt sector. That was the Automated and ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: Shop Talk
Most independent businesses trade on their personal service knowing their regular customers, chatting to them and generally keeping them happy. But what about recommendations? This is something I think more independents should do more of. Book shops (I know there are very few left, unfortunately) often have recommendations from staff ...
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Analysis
Safety first
The terrorist attacks at the Manchester Arena and on London Bridge mean security is top of the agenda for many companies, and an incident in Manchester demonstrates why the forecourt sector needs to be vigilant. A Texaco petrol station in the city found itself on the front line in the ...
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Analysis
David Charman: chairman CWA
Our industry is facing cost increases on an unprecedented scale. Firstly, the living wage increase has impacted us all. And this challenge, I believe, is by far and away the biggest we will face in the coming years. But hot on its heels is the huge business rates increase that ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: chairman PRA
As I write this, if the pollsters are correct, the ’blues’ will continue to form the government. Mrs May has run her campaign on the mantra of ’strong and stable’ leadership but, when back in office, will she take the opportunity to change her Cabinet? We have already had rapid ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
There’s been a lot of worrying stuff in the news recently and I’m not talking about the campaign for the General Election, which will be done and dusted by the time anyone reads this. Whatever your persuasion we will, of course, have to make the best of the outcome, but ...
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Analysis
Back to the future
This time last year we were coming to the end of a major restructuring of the industry, as private equity funding was driving the big dealer groups to acquire a large number of sites being sold off by the oil companies. This activity has slowed down over the past year ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum: analysis editor, Argus Media
On May 26, Opec and 10 non-Opec countries decided to extend their production restraint for a further nine months to the end of March 2018. But the battle between producers wanting to increase prices and those fighting for market share continues, and weak prices and large swings betray the market’s ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: Shop Talk
At first glance, I thought the news that most people thought the forthcoming sugar tax on soft drinks also applied to sweets, chocolate, biscuits and cakes was quite shocking. What is more, the Nielsen survey from which the news originated found that 28% of people didn’t think it applied to ...
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Analysis
Chris Hunt: UKPIA director general
Well, here we go again! The Prime Minister has fired the starting gun for a General Election, the sound of which has startled many people. It would seem that we have had an overabundance of politics over the past 18 months, what with the Labour party trying to sort itself ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
It was something of a welcome relief for many that the government’s draft Air Quality Plan (see News Extra, page 10) seemed to have taken the heat out of the intense focus on ’dastardly diesel’ vehicles and their drivers. With threats of financial penalties and the suggestion that the use ...
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Analysis
Ray Blake: technical manager PRA
Before joining the Petrol Retailers Association, I spent 35 years ensuring the safety of petrol filling stations within London. During this time, I also implemented and managed 10 Primary Authority Partnerships (PAPs) that had influence over 25% of UK petrol filling stations. Having done this, I knew the benefit of ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum: analysis editor, Argus Media
The international crude and petrol markets that underlie fuel prices in UK forecourts are tightening for separate reasons, keeping prices at the pump well supported. Crude production cuts by Opec members and other producers are starting to achieve what they set out to do, namely rebalance the market by reducing ...